An extension of the South West Rail Link in Sydney would be run underground at Oran Park and Harrington Park, the government has announced.
NSW transport minister Andrew Constance and member for Camden Chris Patterson announced the proposed rail extension would be tunneled to minimise impact on new homes.
Constance said the development of a second major airport in Sydney’s south west would mean more than 300,000 new residents would call the region home over the next 30 years.
“While construction on a rail line is not expected to start for some years, even decades, we need to do the planning now to make sure we can build this crucial infrastructure more efficiently and cost effectively when it’s needed,” Constance said.
“Earlier this year the NSW Government carried out detailed consultation with the community to help refine corridor options for a future rail extension between Leppington and Narellan.
“While work is still continuing to refine the future corridor, we are pleased to announce that the final recommended corridor will include an underground alignment between Oran Park and north of Narellan.
“This will ensure that the corridor will avoid impacting existing homes in Oran Park, the Anglicare aged care facility, Wildfire Estate, and Harrington Park.”
Home and land owners in the region were in the news in June, publicly expressing their concern over the proposed corridor for a SWRL extension through Maryland, Oran Park and Narellan.
“We’re sitting here, ready to build a house, and we don’t know what to do,” one landowner told ABC’s 702 Mornings program at the time.
Patterson, the local member, said the government got this message loud and clear from the community during consultation sessions.
“The communities of Oran Park and Harrington Park are growing rapidly, and I’m pleased the government has agreed to go underground for this part of the corridor preservation,” Patterson said.
“This is a great outcome for these communities and will come as a relief for many new homeowners who are building or have just moved into their homes in the Oran Park and Harrington Park areas.”
The state government says it will begin further consultation over the next stage of the project in early 2016.
Options include an extension of the future rail line south of Narellan, and north to the T1 Main Western Line at St Marys, as part of the proposed Outer Sydney Orbital consultation.
A recommended corridor for the rail extension will be finalised in late 2016, Constance said.
“This is not an easy task – the transport planners need to consider a range of issues, including the technical and environmental constraints needed for a rail corridor as well as the impact on existing and future communities,” the transport minister added.
“Local knowledge is vital to getting this future transport corridor right and I’d like to thank residents for all their feedback to date.”
The South West Rail Link was opened to passenger services in February 2015, with new stations at Edmondson Park and Leppington, branching from a refurbished station at Glenfield, on the T2 Airport, T2 South and T5 Cumberland lines.
The next plan is to extend it from its current terminus at Leppington to a new station at Rossmore. After Rossomore the line would split into a northern and southern line. The proposed northern line would pass through the new airport at Badgerys Creek, while the southern line – which has caused the housing development drama – would extend to Narellan, then potentially on to the T2 Southern lines in the future.
The development of the southern section of the line is further ahead than the northern section, but the government has stressed that its current work is to secure a corridor for the proposed extension, with no timetable yet set for construction.